Homebrewing is on the rise, and for good reason: once you have the equipment and a basic understanding of the process, brewing beer is pretty simple—even <a href="../obama-serves-up-home-brewed-white-house-honey-ale-to-guests/" target="_blank">Obama is doing it</a>! Plus, after all the rinsing and sanitation is over, you've gained a bounty of freshly bottled beer and an enchanting ability to make new friends (if you're the sharing kind). Interested in taking up the craft? This post will guide you through the basics of homebrewing a Smoked Molasses Porter. Bring on the summer brewskies!

<h3><big>Step 1: Finding a recipe</big></h3>
Just like gardening, fermenting beer turns out best when you match the style to its season.
Smoked beers date back to the 1500s and to the district of Franconia in Germany, where it is known as <strong>Rauchbier</strong> ("rauch" is German for smoke). It is typically of dark color and has similarities of the Oktoberfestbier. Malts, dried over an open fire of beech wood, impart a bold <a href="http://inhabitat.com/scottish-distillery-powers-their-nissan-leaf-with-whiskey/" target="_blank">smoky character</a>. The smoked porter is an acquired taste, and therefore not a very common craft brew style (this writer loves it).

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

After you pick up your equipment, you'll need to choose your ingredients. Like most things, beer is only be as good as what goes into it. Water, yeast, hops, and malted barley.
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If you don't have a local homebrewing store, like San Francisco's <a href="http://www.sanfranciscobrewcraft.com/">Brewcraft</a>, you can find everything you'll need online.

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

<strong>Making the Mash</strong>:
The point of the mash is to get sugar from the grain. Malted grains contain starch and heating them creates the enzymes that convert this starch in sugar. These sugars will feed the yeast, which will produce alcohol and carbon dioxide in the beer. Grains are also responsible for the flavor and color of beer.

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Heat 1 quart of water per pound of grain. After adding the grain, the temperature will drop by about 10 degrees. Maintain the mash at its new temperature for around 90 minutes. Darker beers mash at about 170 degrees, while lighter beers can be expected to mash around 150 degrees Fahrenheit.

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers-3

The boil will last for 60-90 minutes depending on the gravity of the beer (higher gravity means more time in the boil).

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers 5

After you have sparged and collected the wort (steps 4-5), you will bring it up to a boil and add hops. Hops account for the bittering, aroma, and flavor of a good beer. Each type of hops is added at a different stage in the boil.

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

The first 60 minutes (lighter brews call for 45 minutes) is dedicated to your bittering hops. In the Smoked Molasses Porter, these are Challenger hops. Then come the flavoring hops (Goldings, East Kent) for 15 minutes, and finally 5-10 minutes of finishing hops.

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

The bitterness of the boiling hops will counteract the sweetness of molasses or honey introduced in this stage.

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Once your boil is complete, you need to cool the wort as fast as possible. A bathtub full of ice water is best, but a deep sink will work as well. Cool the wort to 65-75 degrees (the yeast packet/vial should have instructions for the ideal temperature for the strain you’re using).

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Once your wort is cool, transfer it to a carboy or fermentation bucket. Pour vigorously!

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Add one teaspoon of brewers yeast. The sugar created in the mash is now being eaten by the yeast, which creates alcohol and carbon dioxide. In other words, your beer is now fermenting. Congratulations!

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Pour a little into a tube and check your Original Gravity (OG; water has a gravity of 1.000) with a hydrometer. The gravity is a measure of how much sugar is dissolved in the water of your wort. The estimate for the Smoked Molasses Porter is 1.060 OG—it's okay if your measurement differs. Every beer is different!

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A Simple Guide To Beer Brewing For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Store the brew in a cool dark place for about two weeks. Check on it for frequent inspiration.

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A Simple Guide To Homebrewing Beer For Seasonal Ale Lovers

A few hours over the stove and just under a month later, it's time to bottle! Line up your recycled, sanitized beer bottles for filling and capping.

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A Simple Guide To Homebrewing Beer For Seasonal Ale Lovers

Once your beers are bottled, wait at least another week for the brews to carbonate (aka "bottle condition") before you start stocking your fridge.

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How to Brew Your Own Beer at Home

Homebrewing is on the rise, and for good reason: once you have the equipment and a basic understanding of the process, brewing beer is pretty simple—even Obama is doing it! Plus, after all the rinsing and sanitation is over, you've gained a bounty of freshly bottled beer and an enchanting ability to make new friends (if you're the sharing kind). Interested in taking up the craft? This post will guide you through the basics of homebrewing a Smoked Molasses Porter. Bring on the summer brewskies!